Lone Blossom
by Crimson Hikaru
Summary: Tsunade has given her life to protect Sasuke from Orochimaru. ROOT has taken over with Danzou and seeks to destroy the ideals and everything that Konoha has ever stood for. Will the elite Jounin and the Konoha 11 stand for it? Of course not...
1. Chapter 1

_It's four years after Naruto's return from his training trip with Jiraiya, and all of the Konoha Eleven are of Jounin status. Orochimaru had, for reasons unknown to Konoha intelligence, yet to take over Uchiha Sasuke's body and planned one more attempt to bring Konoha to it's knees with Kabuto as his right hand man, Sasuke leading a whole battalion of Sound Ninja against the opposite front. On one front, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune face off against Orochimaru and Kabuto. Haruno Sakura is fighting amongst the troops in the thick of it, too busy to offer her aid to her fellow medic ninja. On the other front, it only takes a few decisive moves for the collision of Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke to commence. The entire time, Naruto pleads for Sasuke to leave Orochimaru and return to Team Kakashi as Sasuke proceeds to slowly grind him down. Right at the critical point though, the tables turn and Naruto begins to literally beat the sense back in to Sasuke. Eventually, he relents and the two head toward the battle between the Sannin._

_Upon arriving, they find that Jiraiya has been exhausted and is on the sidelines. In between Kabuto and Shizune, though there is no huge margin, it appears that Kabuto has the edge. Orochimaru and Tsunade are in an epic fight that would stand in history forever as the two dueled on top of giant summons. Sakura and some of the elite Jounin have managed to push back the Sound forces back pasts the walls, so she begins to head toward the battle. Orochimaru, upon seeing that Sasuke has betrayed him, brings out the Sword of Kusanagi and goes in for the kill at an unprecedented speed. Right before the killing blow hits though, Tsunade performs one last act and uses her body as a human shield, grinning as she dies. She says only one thing to Sasuke. "Make him pay." Sasuke understands, but upon seeing his master at a decisive disadvantage and running out of chakra, Kabuto grabs Orochimaru and runs off. The Sound forces back off, and the battle is won._

_However, Konoha soon spirals down in to chaos. Though many are glad for Sasuke's return, the feeling is not mutual all around. The formally subversive Danzou and ANBU division known as ROOT completely over take Konoha and take Sasuke captive and plan to execute him after giving him a 'fair' trial. ROOT has closed off all traveling in and out of Konoha by requiring red passes that are nigh-impossible to obtain, and all of the truly loyal shinobi have scattered and are in hiding, not sure of what to do next or even who survived the battle. To make matters worse, foreign nations refuse to recognize the new government, Suna included, and political tensions are highly tense at best. What is to happen next? Only time will tell…_

The winds howled through the dark forest of Huni no Kuni, raging with what could be described as unfathomable sorrow, hurt, regret, but most of all, fury. But since wind is not a being of itself and just an ethereal entity, it's only significance was that it caused the almost sentient trees to sway in a deadly dance and further pushed in the oncoming storm of vengeance. In of the denser part of the lonesome wood, an pale cherry blossom was sitting on an overhang of stone over a rapid grey river, the rushing water pounding on her ears as if in an attempt to push all of the past events out of her mind, her arms wrapped around her knees where her chin was resting, her profile unclear due to the fact that her hair was obscuring it, the black band beginning to grow lax in its duty of holding back the pink tresses.

The dark stone was a comfort to the kunoichi, whose eyes of emerald were fixed upon it, trying to brand it into her mind to erase the other events and their implications. Unfortunately, this was utterly futile. The orbs squeezed shut in frustration and in a similar mood as the winds that were blowing her hair into her face. _Once again, I couldn't do _anything!!_ Even after all this time, all I could do was just watch their backs..._ A lone tear tried to escape from the corner of the shut eye, but it was forcibly denied exit. If one fell, others would follow.

As Sakura's mind shifted through the turmoil, a familiar face painfully surfaced, causing a wracking pain through her heart. _Tsunade-shishou...I...I couldn't do anything for you._ After the killing blow had struck, Sakura had rushed in as quickly as possible and had begun pouring all of her abilities into trying to heal her master. However, the Sword of Kusanagi was unforgiving and now laid claim to the lives of two Hokages. Sakura's fists clenched, her fingerless gloves threatening to tear from the force of the self-directed anger. Sakura had closed up the wound despite the fact that she already knew that her master was dead, but the fact that she was smiling wasn't lost at the time. Realizing what would happen afterwards as the ROOT members were going to take Sasuke away, Sakura had shot him one lone, sad glace that she was sure he didn't notice before rushing to the Hokage's office with only minutes before ROOT arrived. Apparently Tsunade's other trusted person had thought the same thing and had already been securing secret and important items, the loyal Tonton by her side as always. Between Sakura and Shizune, the appropriate scrolls, pictures, and important research materials had been hidden away safely. After all, as her master's apprentice, it had been her duty.

As a lone raindrop landed on her midnight leather jacket, Sakura began to rant at herself. "Damn you Sakura, why couldn't you do anything? Sasuke had to save Kakashi because you couldn't, and Naruto fought him because you were too emotional to do it yourself. And then Tsunade-shishou had to give her life because you were too slow to do the same with yours or to push them both out of the way." Sakura took several large breaths before looking up to the sky, now dark with furious storm clouds. As the rain soaked her hair, luckily the leather jacket kept her trunk warm, Sakura yelled out to the sky in fury, not caring right now if any ROOT were nearby to hear. "DAMN YOU SAKURA!" Let them hear! If they came anywhere near her, they were dead for desecrating her master's memory so!

Now letting out dry sobs, Sakura looked down into the very tempting river below. "Damn you to hell." Saline began to mix with the fresh water that was now pouring in buckets. _What can I do now? Something has to be done, I know that...but what? I have no idea where anyone but Shizune is. With my luck, they're all doing just what I am...hiding from ROOT until the opportune moment. How in the heck am I going to find anyone?_ With that train of though going through her mind, Haruno Sakura rested her chin on her arms once more, lost in thought.

The pummeling torrents of rain could be seen pouring down on the forests of Huni no Kuni, the wind blowing it nearly horizontal as the trees swayed dangerously. As the wind howled, it blew the rain mercilessly into the windows of an old cabin that was hunkered against the side of a small cliff, cleverly hidden by well-placed brush that had been planted years ago and allowed to grow as it pleased. The rain ran down the windows in rivers, obscuring what could be seen within save a dull orange glow.

Inside the cabin, the source of said glow could be seen, burning low but steadily in the brick fireplace. It was a simple one-room cabin with wood floors and a low roof to accommodate a second floor that was tall enough for a older child to stand upright, just enough to put some sleeping bags in. However, what was happening in front of the fire was much more interesting. There was a old, wooden round table, and around it were four chairs. In each was seated an adult male, albeit of different ages. One was well into his fifties and looked it at the moment, the low light flickering across his saddened face. Another was gray as well, but noticeably younger in his appearance as he was in the early years of his thirties. Another was raven-haired and stoic, not betraying any of his thoughts. Though all were holding steaming cups of tea, the fourth one was about to break his due to the amount of strength that he was applying to the grip, his fist barely shaking, showing ill-concealed rage. The flickering light did nothing to remove the mood from his whiskered face and blonde hair, the pupils in his cerulean eyes beginning to form slits. Suddenly he just couldn't take it any more and slammed his cup onto the table, shattering it with the force and stood up, knocking his chair over.

"We have to do something! We're wasting our time here!" Naruto yelled. His canines were just slightly more visible than usual. Kakashi's lone coal eye lazily slid up, unworried. "Control yourself Naruto. We were separated from Yamato-san, so if you start going Kyuubi he can't help." Naruto growled in response. "So we're just going to sit in this cabin and do nothing after Granny Tsunade died?!" Suddenly he stopped, seeing the look in Jiraiya's eyes. He stared Naruto down, menacing. "You think we plan on doing nothing, Naruto? Use your head for a moment. Konoha's been taken over completely, and as such we can't just run in and do as we please. We have to come up with a plan. She wouldn't want us to charge in mindlessly and die without a purpose." Sensing the truth in the last Sannin's words, Naruto sat down. Sai took one more sip of his tea and spoke. "And as if a guy that doesn't even have a pe-" Naruto immediately punched Sai out of his chair, causing the young man to fall back, if not really hurt him. "Shut up Sai. You're not helping." With that, the four men sat, each in their own thoughts, each trying to come up with a plan…

Elsewhere in the woods, multiple figures huddled down in a cavern, the screaming of the wind filling the room from outside the exit, causing more than just cold to raise goose bumps on the flesh of those enclosed within. The fur of a large, white guard who was standing ever-vigilant at the entrance of the deep, hidden cavern ruffled in the wind, oblivious to weather. Several small insects took cover on the underside of the large canine, ready to carry a message or provide their assistance whenever necessary.

Further in, past several stony turns and dangerous falls, several oil lamps lit a small portion of the cave, just large enough to house the eight shinobi within. The majority of the group of shinobi were sitting down, each with different expressions upon their faces, one seemingly concentrating as he had his thin eyebrows furrowed over his eyes, thinking. A kunoichi was relieving worry by sharpening various weapons on a whetting stone while the meeker of the other two was sitting down, the more boisterous pacing back and forth, restless. After a few minutes, this obviously bothered the thinking shinobi.

"Knock it off, will you Ino?! It's not helping the rest of us." The blonde whirled at the speaker, annoyed. "What do you want me to do, Shikamaru? We're not all accounted for. I saw Naruto go off with Jiraiya, Sai, and Kakashi-sensei, but what about Sakura? For all we know, ROOT might have gone after her and Shizune first since they were the closest to Tsunade-sama…" Ino looked sad as she continued on. "…for all we know, they're both already dead…" At this, a shinobi clad in green stood up. "There's no need to worry, Ino-san. After all, Sakura-san is very strong. Tsunade-sama taught her everything she knew, and she added more on top of that. I'm sure she felt duty-bound to her sensei to take care of some things before ROOT did." Lee looked a bit worried then. "I hope she's not out in this rain…she might catch a cold! My poor blossom!"

Ino smacked Lee upside the head. "Shut up Lee! She's not frail enough to get sick out there. Knocking Forehead Girl though, she probably is out there somewhere. She and Tsunade were really close, so I can't imagine how much it hurts for her. She's most likely blaming herself right now, venting somewhere before she tries to think up of a plan. That's how Sakura deals with things…she may have to blow off some steam, but then she'll put that large forehead of hers to work to think of a solution." Lee looked hurt, but suddenly there wasn't time to argue any further as they heard footsteps rapidly approaching before Kiba came into the room, followed by Akamaru. "I hate to break up this love fest, but we've got company." As the group was suddenly on their feet, grim-faced as Neji spoke up. "ROOT will have to learn the hard way what happens when they mess with Konoha's strongest teams." This brought a grin to each face as ANBU level ROOT began to storm through the cavern. They would be in their cavern at any moment, and there one side or the other would meet their crimson deaths.

It only took a grand total of five minutes for the skirmish to take place. In the small confines of the cavern, it was obvious that the defensive side had the advantage, especially since several members of the team specialized in taking out multiple enemies at a time, leaving most of the others just standing to the side enjoying the show and perhaps blocking a few shots taken by ROOT. Tenten could be seen frowning in disappointment as she rolled up her large weapon scroll, the blood from some enemies that had come too close staining the scroll and possibly ruining it. It would take some time to re-ink another scroll, worse than any injury in her opinion, though she had none. Neji just leaned up against a rock wall, wiping some blood off of his cheek. Save for one small graze, the user of the Gentle-Fist had no injuries. Of all the broken bodies that were on the ground, none were of those loyal to the Hokage, but to Danzou. The small amount that had not been taken out by a plethora of weapons or by the smallest of taps were covered in bugs, who were now returning to their master who was calmly observing the scene.

Ino looked somewhat disturbed. "No matter how many times I see it, I'll never like seeing this much blood…especially when they're from our own village." Shino pushed his sunglasses up his nose. "It couldn't be helped…they had full intention of killing us, despite lacking the ability to follow through. They deemed the late Godaime-sama a disgrace and betrayed what our village holds dear. Their end was inevitable." Shikamaru chose that time to speak up. "As it is, they'll know where we are. This was likely just a scouting party, and their absence will be noticed soon. We need to get moving." The party suddenly looked grim once more as they walked across the sticky floor, back into the grey outside. Fortunately the rain would wash off any blood as well as cover their tracks.

A surprisingly short distance away, another group was hidden, up in the thick boughs of the trees of Huni no Kuni, tense and alert. Several pairs of eyes were scanning the surrounding area, looking for any sign of patrolling ROOT members. Two lavender eyes narrowed as a group of ROOT ANBU came into sight, the face becoming less tense as the group headed away. Another set of eyes, these two crimson, looked over the rest of the group. "That was close." A few others breathed a sigh of relief. A figure with multiple scars over his face, as well as a black forehead protector that was folded in such a way as to cover the top of his skull, then spoke up. "Well, though we're fine for now, it seems that some more are going to show up. That was just the size of a scouting party…they're looking for us, or anyone that has a chance of causing them any trouble." It seemed that the bearer of the lavender eyes wasn't bothered in the least though, grinning, her keen sense of smell picking the scent of flowing blood and crumbling ceramic masks, a sure sign that the ROOT were being taken care of swiftly and without mercy. "Pfft, serves them right." The bearer of the crimson eyes spoke up, trying to prevent a fit of rage that could potentially come from the other kunoichi, even if she didn't completely disagree with what she was saying. "That's a bit cold, Anko. They are Konoha shinobi after all, even if they're ideals are completely wrong and messed up." Anko looked back at the speaker, showing obvious disdain. "This isn't about idealistic thoughts Kurenai. They've decided to side with Danzou, and so they've done the same thing he's done…take the memory of the past Hokages and desecrate them, lowering them to the point of scum." Two faces swam into Anko's mind as her countenance hardened with vengeance, her voice dripping with venom. "That's something I can't forgive." Another figure spoke up, the senbon needle in his mouth moving with each word. "We all know that Anko. That's how we all feel to some degree or another." Genma grinned lecherously before continuing. "You're just a bit more fiery than Kurenai Anko, in more ways than one…" Morino Ibiki saw what direction the other Jounin's mind was going. "Now isn't the time Genma. We can't afford distractions right now." Genma shrugged it off. "I know that Ibiki. It's just a part of my better, gentlemanly nature." Kurenai rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. "Gentleman my a-" Anko looked over, surprised. "Hmm? It appears that my better nature is rubbing off too much on you Kurenai." Anko then looked a little intrigued, as if just noticing something, though she already had but had waited until now to ask. "Say, Kurenai, where's the kid? Surely you didn't just leave him in town." Kurenai then looked a bit more concerned, one arm crossed over her flat stomach to grab the other. "You mean little Asuma? I left him with Kotetsu and Izumo. They promised not to do anything stupid and watch over him. They also said they're going to try to find Shizune, but that they wouldn't take any risks that they can avoid. If there's any way for him to be safe, it's with those two." Genma nodded. "Got that right. Those two might be a couple of goofballs at time, but they do have heads on those shoulders, and they'd give everything they have to protect that kid." Suddenly the group tensed up, sensing a larger group approaching as Ibiki prepared to give instructions. "That must be the main group. They got here a lot quicker than expected, but here's how we'll take them out. Kurenai, you-" Ibiki was suddenly cut off by Anko, who looked quite eager, hands one hand on her hip and the other scratching behind her head, ruffling the damp ponytail that somehow avoided being tamed even by the rain. "Nope. You three rest up for now…I'm itching to deal out some hurt." Ibiki sounded indignant. "Anko! There's too many of them, and most of them are ANBU level! There's no way you can-" Anko spoke up angrily. "That doesn't matter! I'm not just a Tokubetsu Jounin any more Ibiki…I reached ANBU status over a year ago." With that the entire group seemed a bit shocked, seeing as they didn't know until that moment. Kurenai decided to say what everyone was thinking. "Anko…why didn't you say anything?" Anko just shrugged. "I wasn't in the mood to celebrate. Besides, I did tell Kakashi…I just assumed the normal grapevine of gossip would spread it around." With that, she grinned. "Besides, Danzou caused the Sandaime a lot of trouble too…I owe him still, so this is a way I can pay them all back." With that, Anko jumped a few branches ahead before looking back, grinning cheekily with a small wave. "Well, later!" With that, she leapt ahead, disappearing into the night. Kurenai looked on. "You better come back…" Genma grinned before trying to reassure Kurenai. "Don't worry Kurenai. There's more than one reason that most of the men in Konoha are scared shitless of Anko. She's one of the people we have to worry the least about." This managed to bring Kurenai to a small smile. "I guess you're right."

Not too far away, the group of ROOT followers was suddenly brought to a surprised stop as someone leapt right into their midst. Anko looked around calmly at the group. "So, about fifteen of you?" With that, she pulled out a kunai and licked it, grinning maliciously. "This is going to be fun!" She quickly pricked her thumb and formed some hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" With that, the melee began.

Author's Notes: Long time no update! It's a long story…believe me, I do have a little bit more of 'Rhapsody' written, and I'll likely post it by the end of December. I've also modified the first chapter a bit, if ffnet registered the changes , because I used a dramatic line waaay too soon in the story and fixed a couple akward parts, or at least I hope I did. I have finals coming up though. As for why November, and perhaps longer, were completely updateless, I'll just say I was in significant pain and not in the best of health. Thank you for remaining loyal, and I hope you like this story too!


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, long time no update, right? Well, I can explain...the hardrive on my computer died. Bad. So all my story stuff that I built up went bye-bye, along with the two chapters of Rhapsody that I had done. Now, I know I shouldn't be like this, but I really really hate rewriting stuff that I've already written. So...I guess I haven't technically abandoned writing fanfics, but it just sort of fell by the wayside with traveling and school and everything else. So I'll TRY to update more often, and as a form of apology, aka sucking up to all my wonderful reviewers, here's a bit of Lone Blossom. I know it's a bit short, but exams are next week...

Oh, and I don't own any rights to Naruto or ramen. Kishi-sama does!

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As she heard the snap of a twig, Sakura suddenly looked up from her position above the grey waters, mentally withdrawing her previous sentiments about wanting ROOT to hear her. Not knowing if it was a friend or foe, Sakura remained in the same position, chin on her arms to keep from alerting them to the fact that she was aware of their presence. After all, it might be Shizune trying to find her again. The sound of the slightest ruffling of leaves broke that illusion. Whoever it was, they were trying to be secretive, something no ally would do. Stealthily, she made some simple seals, silently preparing for what was to come. The climbing adrenaline levels were evident, the pounding in her ears the only sound to break the steady drum of rain, increasing in tempo like the drums of war. It would turn out to be an apt illustration.

Soon, the drums stopped abruptly, replaced by a hypersensitivity that picked up the sound of kunai flying through the air with ruffling explosive tags attached. As they made contact, an unfortunate log that had committed the crime of being conveniently near the attacker's position was blown in to oblivion. Sakura was pleased to see one of her attackers right above her in the tree she had ended up beside. Making use of the split moment where she would have the element of surprise, she shot up off the ground, floating in the air behind the masked shinobi, fist charged with chakra. As the blow made contact, she was already turning around to flee, not needing to look to confirm the kill. The feel of her fist going through the dura mater and brain tissue along with some wet droplets landing on the side of her face that didn't quite match the viscosity of the rain were confirmation enough.

Running from branch to branch, Sakura did what she could to listen, trying to discern how many pursuers she had. From what she could tell there were at least two, echoing footsteps coming from behind and slightly above. Knowing that it was unlikely that she could simply escape by outpacing them, Sakura gradually began to slow as if she was having difficulty moving, perhaps from some injury or fatigue. When they came close enough, Sakura jumped straight at a thick tree, feet going out in front of her. Using a similar technique as her punches, she projected herself right off of the trunk, rocketing backward, past the startled ANBU. Doling out the fate that they would have condemned her to earlier, she pulled out a fistful of kunai and hurriedly plastered on some explosive notes before throwing them at the duo. Though it wasn't pretty, it did the job.

Skidding to a slippery stop on a branch, Sakura stood still as she looked for signs of any more pursuers. After a few minutes, she began to relax. If she had missed the two shinobi she had aimed for earlier, they would have struck by now. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sakura took a step back to lean against the trunk to gather her bearings and figure out what she would do next.

She had just begun to think when she suddenly felt a presence behind her, shocking her since she hadn't detected any chakra signatures. Apparently this particular would be assassin was highly skilled in stealth. Bringing up a closed fist, Sakura was eternally grateful to Kakashi for the advice that he had given her for her gloves. The metal plate on the back of the fist clashed with a long knife that would have otherwise given her a good injury, maybe even made it to the neck it was going toward. Pushing the blade back, she used the same arm to bring back her elbow, smashing it in to the tree behind her. Feeling the sensation of crunching bones once again, she spun around to see that she had gotten her attacker in the nose, pushing it up in to his skull and in to the brain. The typical three man cell was complete in the afterlife, so it would seem.

Scanning her environment more carefully this time, Sakura scolded herself for only using a normal level of precaution when she knew her opponents were highly skilled. If the situation had played out any differently at any point in time, the end could have been much different. For the moment it would be best for her to seek out some allies. Until she did, there would be little chance of getting any sleep. If she neglected that for too long, the medic in her knew all too well that she would get sloppy. With that thought, she disappeared in to the night.

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Elsewhere, a purple haired kunoichi slowly rose to a stand, panting in exhaustion as multiple snakes exited the area. Realizing one was still present, Anko coughed it up as it slithered out of her mouth. _I know Mandara no Jin is useful, but even I can't stand having snakes inside me all the time. I guess that's mainly how I'm different from him. I've still got my humanity securely intact._ Still, even with using that in combination with her snake's authority jutsu, the squad had been difficult to take down. A few cuts and bruises showed, along with one particularly nasty gash in her arm. The last one had been quite clever, and she was having trouble stopping the bleeding. Eventually, Anko was forced to take some bandages out of her coat and wrap up her forearm. A crimson stain began to form, but to her relief it stopped growing past a certain point.

Orochimaru's former disciple took to the trees, following the direction that Kurenai, Ibiki, and Genma had begun to take when she left. Since the fight had moved as it progressed, it would take some time to get back. Though she would never admit it in a million years, she was eager to regroup with other shinobi. Taking out fifteen ANBU was no walk in the park, especially when they were from the ROOT division. Her stamina was definitely quite exceptional among kunoichi, but she was human.

Still continuing through the trees, she began to become concerned when she didn't find them. _Did I get turned around when fighting? I usually have a good sense of direction, so I doubt that. They probably just changed routes to avoid detection, and they couldn't leave any signs for me without telling ROOT as well. Damn!_

Much to her surprise, Anko suddenly found herself surrounded by a small group of shinobi. Skidding to a stop, she took a defensive stance, expecting a scuffle. Fortunately she was pleasantly surprised when two of them stepped forward, a flash of lightning revealing that it was two thirds of the latest installation of Ino Shika Chou. The lazy Jounin grinned as his team mate rushed over to Anko, quickly applying healing chakra to her arm. "You made quite the ruckus there Anko-taichou. What were you thinking, taking them all on yourself?" She was about to respond when an annoyed Kiba spoke up. "Really, we wanted some of them!" Anko chuckled, grinning. "It's not my fault if you kids are too slow for your own good. Try to keep up next time! On second thought, stay slow. I like killing treacherous scum. The less you guys take out, the more that are left for me."

It soon became apparent that the rest of the famed Konoha Eleven were present, minus two of Kakashi's subordinates. "So, where are Naruto and Sakura?" Ino shook her head in response. "We don't know. We saw Naruto heading off with Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sama, and Sai-kun, but we don't know where Sakura is." Anko thought it over for a moment. "She's probably somewhere with Shizune. Kotetsu and Izumo were going to look for Shizune, so she'll be fine. I was with Kurenai, Genma, and Ibiki before running in to the group back there. Normally I would be against too many of us traveling together in these kinds of circumstances, but considering what kind of opponents we're up against…"

Shikamaru finished her sentence. "It would be better for us to stay in a group. Eventually we'll have to get together to make plans anyway. The sooner everyone gathers, the better off we'll be." Everyone nodded in response. Kiba spoke up again. "So, could you take us to where Kurenai-sensei is?" Anko nodded once in response before continuing on. In this rain, it would be difficult to locate them purely by scent, so she would have to remember what direction they had taken.

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Not everyone was having as much luck as Sakura and Anko. Shizune was running through thick undergrowth, continuously being scratched by thorny bushes, and being pursued by an entire squad as her little pig ran beside her, squealing like it was running from the butcher. It wasn't an entirely inaccurate comparison. _Dammit! Could this day possibly get any worse?! _True, she had incapacitated several of them earlier with her poison gas, and she had even taken down a few more will well placed needles. It wasn't that Shizune was a horrible kunoichi, not by a long shot. She was just unfortunate enough to where several of the ROOT members were well matched against her abilities.

Eventually, Shizune ran in to a dead end, the undergrowth giving way to a rocky surface before a cliff face of immense proportions. Before she could even think about running up it, several masked men jumped on to it, staring her down. Turing around, she found more of them blocking any chance of escape. One wearing a hawk mask stepped forward. "Stand down and we'll simply take you back to Konoha for questioning. Resist and we'll kill you." She stood in place in frustration, wondering what she should do. Tonton shuffled to her side, clearly anxious.

Just as they began to advance, there were sudden screams coming from back in the forest. Then, as if the earth itself was coming to her rescue, Shizune saw the trees begin to spurt in growth as they shot toward the various enemies. At the same time, the ground beneath her and Tonton gave way as they fell down in to the earth, the surface closing in as they descended a short way. Feeling the ground shift all around her, Shizune tried not to feel claustrophobic as it took her away. As long as it was away from the ROOT ANBU, she figured that it couldn't be all too bad.

Before long she found herself above ground again, this time back in the forest, the rain cleaning off any traces of dust that was on her. Still tense, Shizune looked around until she spotted a familiar face. "Yamato! What are you doing here?" The wood element user grinned slightly. "I could ask you the same question. I didn't know you were the careless type Shizune." This immediately elicited a pouting frown. "I wasn't being careless! It was just bad luck, that's all." Yamato shook his head, chuckling slightly. "Enough small talk. I thought Sakura was with you. Is she alright?" Shizune frowned slightly. "We separated after leaving Tsunade-sama's office. We were supposed to meat back up, but when I got to the destination point, it looked like there had been a minor scuffle. Judging by what I saw though, she won."

Yamato sighed. "Well, that's better than what could happen. I can only hope that she's not by herself. I need to get to Naruto in case things go bad. Care to join me?" Shizune grinned in response. "Certainly."


End file.
